And Out of the Blue
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day 1219: It's all been about words and uncertainty and testing each other out, but should the moment come that either of them makes a move... - Runaway Bride series


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 58th cycle. Now cycle 59!_

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**"And Out of the Blue"  
Rachel/Quinn  
Runaway Bride Series  
_(no listing yet; sequel to "Fell in Love With a Girl")_  
**

After their evening together, watching movies and basically testing the waters with each other, Rachel wasn't sure what would happen next or really how to proceed at all. The intent was to see how they would do, knowing exactly what was at stake, all cards on the table and everything, and what they'd found so far was awkward at best, but it wasn't hopeless either. Then of course there had been what had or almost had come to pass.

They'd been standing so close for a moment, they wouldn't have had to move an entire step to end up one against the other. Looking at the blonde in front of her, he'd known if neither of them backed out, they could well kiss. In the spirit of the experiment, she'd listened to every part of her that could be said to have a say in the matter. Her mind, her soul, her heart…

When she had backed away, she couldn't say on whose 'authority' it had been, but it had been done, and it had put an end to the moment.

She had held the truth of that moment to herself, and if the vote had been unanimous that would have been one thing. But somewhere inside her, some part had wanted to go the other way, to feel her lips on hers. Maybe that had made her back up as well. It was new, and to feel it for the first time had been a lot.

Going back to school after that, it had felt like there was a spotlight on her, even when no one was looking at her. It had taken time, but then in time she had managed to stop thinking about it, too.

A week later, she'd run into Quinn at the city library. She'd taken the bus, so Rachel offered to drive her home.

"Are you still shaky about driving? You know, because of…"

"My almost accident?" Quinn filled in. "I guess a little," she admitted. "I'm fine, it's just…"

"Don't worry about it," Rachel insisted. When they pulled up in front of the Fabray house, Quinn turned to her.

"My mom's out, do you want to come in, or…"

"I need to get home, I have a paper to finish," she pointed to the books on the backseat.

"Yeah, I should probably do the same," Quinn nodded, reaching for her own books. "So I'll see you at school tomorrow?"

"Unless I end up pulling an all-nighter and sleeping through the day, for sure," she nodded with a smirk.

"Right," Quinn chuckled, turning back to her.

It had been all of a second, so casual that neither of them looked as though they realized it had happened until the moment played back in their heads and they looked up to one another. They were saying goodbye, a kiss was not out of place, but they hadn't seen it coming.

"Rachel…" she blinked.

"I know," she was just as stunned.

"Was that…"

"I don't know." They were silent for a moment. Quinn could see her thinking through something, she wasn't sure what, but whatever it was, she needed to think hard. Then… "Do it again."

"Sorry?" she didn't mean to smile, but it was stronger than her.

"Kiss me," Rachel nodded. "Not by reflex this time, just… like you mean to."

"Are you asking me to kiss you the way I want to?" Quinn tried to stay on point, even as her entire face felt flushed with anticipation.

"You know the longer you drag this out, the more likely I am to…

Quinn didn't need more incentive. They weren't exactly in private, sitting in her car, but only just barely factored into her thoughts. Ever since the night where they'd almost kissed the week before, all she'd been thinking about was a moment like this, a moment where she could rectify the situation. Every day that went by, she was less hesitant than ever. She could keep wondering if they needed more time, or if she was trying to make this happen too fast, or she could listen to Rachel's command.

She'd cut her off by reaching out and pulling her forward, kissing her with the purpose of someone who'd been holding back. The first kiss had been no more than a graze compared, but it had still left a taste of the other girl on her, and when she'd found it again it was like she was trying to capture that taste all to herself. If this didn't lay out exactly where she stood, then she didn't know how else to…

She had slowed just a moment, allowing air to flow into her lungs, and when she did she heard something so unexpected and thrilling… a whimper… and then she was back, giving herself into that kiss all over again. Rachel may not have known completely just what she was feeling, but some part of her clearly did. Quinn had seen it in the diner, the way she'd reached for her hand, and then just before. She hadn't been the only one to lean into that peck of a first kiss. Rachel had told her to kiss her like she meant it, and she was most certainly doing that, but then it wasn't just her own hunger feeding this kiss, it was the fact that Rachel had started to give back as much of what she was getting. Calling this a kiss anymore felt like an understatement.

When they'd finally stopped, out of breath, Rachel was practically leaning back with her head kept from pressing into the door handle by Quinn's hand cradling it, while the blonde was nearly on top of her.

"O… Oh…" Rachel replied after they'd been sitting there trying to catch their breath for half a minute. Quinn gave a broken chuckle, resting her forehead to her shoulder for a moment before looking back at her.

"Does that… does that answer your… question?" she asked. Rachel was wordlessly grasping for a response, and finally she had to just nod. "Are you going to be okay to drive?" She held up a finger. "You need a minute?" Rachel shrugged, held up the rest of the fingers on her right hand. "Thanks," Quinn smirked. Her face softened as she watched Rachel reach to place that hand against her cheek. She breathed out, looking back into the eyes locked on to hers. "I know," she told her. "Scared?"

"Little bit," she finally spoke.

"We can go as slow or as fast as you need. This is all new for me, too," Quinn promised.

"I should probably go home," Rachel told her, then, "I really do need to work on that paper." She didn't want Quinn to think she was running away. They both needed a time to stop and reflect. Quinn turned her head to gently kiss the palm of the hand pressed at her cheek before looking back at her.

"Me too, the paper," she nodded, reaching to the back of Rachel's seat to help herself sit back up before helping her up as well. "Talk to you later?" she asked, and Rachel nodded. As she stepped out of the car, all she could think was she was glad her mother wasn't home. She needed to cool down, catch her breath, before she could do anything at all. The only thing on her mind right then was the taste of Rachel Berry's lips still mingled on to hers.

THE END

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******A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
****In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
************always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!**


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